Man found in west Little Rock with multiple injuries diesLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Little Rock police say a man found with multiple stab wounds has died at a local hospital. Lt. Sidney Allen says the man died after being found about 2:20 a.m. Friday by officers investigating reports of a person on the ground. Allen says the man has not been identified and that detectives were still searching for a suspect in the case.

Little Rock police investigating man's shooting deathLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Little Rock police have arrested a suspect in the shooting death of a man whose body was found in a parking lot. Lt. Sidney Allen said Friday that officers arrested the suspect after the man contacted police and said he had purchased a motorcycle similar to one seen in news reports about the shooting death of 56-year-old Frank Steinsiek. Police have said Steinsiek was planning to meet with someone about a motorcycle he was t...

Teacher pleads not guilty to stealing guns from districtASHDOWN (AP) — An Ashdown School District teacher who coached the district's skeet shooting club has pleaded not guilty to charges of stealing shotguns used by the club. The Texarkana Gazette reported Friday that 41-year-old Terry Simmons pleaded not guilty to two counts of theft of property. Simmons allegedly sold or traded the guns at a pawn shop. The guns were among 10 used by the skeet club and kept in a safe at the Little River County She...

House would require teaching of cursive writingLITTLE ROCK (AP) — All Arkansas public schools would have to teach cursive writing beginning this fall under a proposal endorsed by the House Thursday over the objection of some lawmakers who said it is no longer needed to be successful in a technology-dominated world. If the measure passes the Senate and is signed by Gov. Asa Hutchinson, Arkansas would join a handful of states that have forced elementary students to learn the swirling, flowin...

House panel endorses hair braiding billLITTLE ROCK (AP) — African-style hair braiders could practice without a cosmetology license in Arkansas under legislation that was unanimously endorsed Thursday by a state House committee. The legislation stems from a federal lawsuit that accuses the state of unfairly singling out braiders, who say required courses for cosmetology licenses in in Arkansas don't cover their craft and can cost up to $20,000. They currently face fines if they prac...

House panel OKs bill on arming teachers, staffLITTLE ROCK (AP) — A proposal to allow school districts to arm teachers, administrators and staff as guards is heading to the Arkansas House for a vote. The House Judiciary Committee on Thursday advanced a Senate-backed bill to abolish the Arkansas Board of Private Investigators and Private Security Agencies and put its duties under the State Police. The bill is in response to the board's 2013 decision to allow 13 districts to continue for two...

Senate votes to ban telemedicine abortionsLITTLE ROCK (AP) — The Arkansas Senate voted Thursday to require physicians be present when the abortion pill is given, a move to further restrict the procedure in a state that approved a pair of the strictest bans in the country two years ago. The Senate approved by a 29-4 vote legislation which would bar the use of telemedicine such as videoconferencing to administer abortion-inducing medication. The proposal heads to the House, which has al...

Proposals would reinstate Arkansas' voter ID requirementLITTLE ROCK (AP) — The Arkansas Constitution would be amended to require voters to show photo identification before casting a ballot under separate proposals lawmakers filed Wednesday in response to the state's highest court striking down a 2013 voter ID law. The measures aimed at reinstating the voter ID law the state Supreme Court struck down in October were among about 40 constitutional amendments lawmakers have proposed putting on the 2016...

House panel OKs anti-discrimination expansion banLITTLE ROCK (AP) — An Arkansas municipality's effort to protect its gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender residents from discrimination would be nullified under a bill presented by the town's state representative on Wednesday. The House Local Affairs Committee voted 12-6 in favor of the measure, which would bar local governments from creating ordinances that prohibit discrimination on a basis not contained in state law. The move would block e...

Prosecutors say NLR man defrauded Arkansas food programNORTH LITTLE ROCK (AP) — Federal prosecutors said a North Little Rock man defrauded a food program set up to provide meals to poor children. An indictment unsealed Wednesday said Christopher Nichols, 24, received $333,136 from the Food and Nutrition Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It stated Nichols promised to feed children from low-income families at two addresses in North Little Rock, but that one address was actually an auto-...

Senate votes to abolish lottery commissionLITTLE ROCK (AP) — The Arkansas Senate voted unanimously Wednesday to abolish the independent commission running the state's lottery and put the games under the governor's control, a move its sponsor says is aimed at staving off a drop in revenue for college scholarships. The Senate voted 34-0 to put the lottery under the state Department of Finance and Administration and make the director of the games an appointee of the governor. It would ab...

Senate panel OKs abortion pill restrictionLITTLE ROCK (AP) — An Arkansas legislative panel has advanced a proposal banning the use of telemedicine to administer the abortion pill. The Senate Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee on Wednesday endorsed the House-backed measure which would require a doctor to be present when abortion-inducing medicine is taken. Anti-abortion rights groups have called the proposal their top priority during the legislative session, and Republican Gov....

Panel rejects bill removing Lee from King holidayLITTLE ROCK (AP) — An effort to end Arkansas' practice of commemorating Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. on the same day failed again before a legislative panel Wednesday, despite supporters' arguments that the combined holiday hurts the state's image. The House State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee rejected the bill to remove Lee from the state holiday honoring King on a 7-10 vote. Arka...

Arkansas lawmakers mull pro-gun proposalsLITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Arkansas Republicans are hopeful that pro-gun measures such as expanding a citizen's right to use deadly force and allowing concealed firearms on university campuses will be embraced by a GOP-dominated Legislature and a governor with strong ties to the National Rifle Association. The ideas range from largely non-controversial proposals like a House committee-approved bill to lower the concealed carry permitting age to ...

Benton County residents rally for historic War Eagle BridgeROGERS, Ark. (AP) - Residents in northwestern Arkansas are rallying behind the 108-year-old War Eagle Bridge. The Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports (http://bit.ly/1DRtouE ) residents are expressing support for repairing the historic bridge and keeping it open for traffic. County Judge Bob Clinard says several critical problems were found during an inspection of the bridge by the Highway Department. He says Benton County officials wan...

Remediation rates decline at Arkansas colleges, universitiesLITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Remediation rates for students who enter Arkansas' public colleges and universities have declined, according to a report by the Arkansas Department of Higher Education. The percentage of students entering public colleges and universities who are unprepared for college-level coursework is at the lowest rate since officials began keeping track in 1988, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported Sunday (http://bit.ly/1zxewlq ...

Arkansas shooting leaves 1 dead, 1 hurt; man held as suspectLITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Arkansas State Police have taken a suspect into custody in connection with a fatal shooting in Dumas. Little Rock television station KATV reports (http://bit.ly/1A6NTEt ) that the shooting occurred Saturday night. Police in Dumas say that two men, 18-year-old Jeffrey Morgan and 18-year-old Kace Nelson, were approached by 20-year-old Todd Thompson about 9:30 p.m. After words were exchanged, both Morgan and Nelson were s...

Huckabee makes last stop of book tour in Little RockLITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee has made his last stop of his tour to promote his new book, "God, Guns, Grits and Gravy," in Little Rock. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (http://bit.ly/1zObnww ) reports Huckabee is mulling a bid to run for president in 2016, but didn't discuss his plans during his Sunday sermon at the Church at Rock Creek. He told the newspaper that an announcement isn't ready to be made until later i...

Hutchinson seeks funding to address jail overcrowdingNORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson says he is committed to finding funding for additional space for thousands of state inmates crowding local jails. Hutchinson told a group of county judges on Monday that any plan addressing prison overcrowding must include the additional space but said he wanted to avoid constructing the 1,000-bed prison corrections officials have said they need. Hutchinson later told reporters he was...

Sheriff: Boy, 8, killed in Oklahoma stove explosionMULDROW, Okla. (AP) - Authorities in eastern Oklahoma say an 8-year-old boy has died and a 22-year-old man has been injured after another man placed an explosive in a stove and shot it with a high-powered rifle. KOTV-TV reports (http://bit.ly/1M5RGGQ ) Sequoyah County Sheriff Ron Lockhart said Monday that the boy died after being hit by shrapnel on Sunday. He says the explosion happened at a home where a 30-year-old man was experimenting with ...